Howdy! Welcome to my inner muse Monday! We are starting right off with the introduction of the Flower Fairy Card of the Week, which is…Resilient! The ability to bounce back against adversity…or I more like to commonly think of it as standing on the apex of the mountain with my Wonder Woman cape and giving the finger to life and whatever negativity it is throwing my way. But that’s me and my willingness to fight back…which has landed me in a little trouble throughout my life. Nothing major, just people on occasion don’t like it when one asserts their two cents (sometimes I feel it’s the only common sense in the discussion, but I digress). Sigh…Oh well, life does go on! I’ve realized over the past two trying weeks that my language landslides into the gutter when things are challenging. I mean do you really spew out pleasantries when you find your basement has flooded a second time in two weeks after drying it out and getting the carpets cleaned? HELL NO! Or finding out the thousands that it’s going to cost to fix it and cut up your deck in the process? Or that my refrigerator is starting to make a funky noise? I could use the F word here…not THAT one, I save that for special occasions. Tehehe! No, the financials are flowing right out the window…Being a big girl and putting on my grown-up panties is the easy part…it’s the making the decision of what to do, how and when to do it, and in what order is where it gets challenging. And then hoping everyone’s schedule fits into my crazy schedule. After a year-long fellowship program on resiliency many moons ago, I find it to be a totally awesome topic. How does one bounce back? My top two ways are using creativity and humor. Combining the two sometimes goes back to that comment about getting me into a little trouble throughout my life…like changing magazine covers to reflect the pictures and lifestyles of my co-workers. Or…I better stop while I’m ahead so I don’t incriminate myself! Funny though, how I can always talk someone into helping me! And my defense is we are just bringing light and cheer to others! My final words of wisdom for today…when there is something that you are struggling with, avoiding, having a hard time dealing with (ya know what I mean here), challenge yourself to find a way to approach it with anticipation, excitement, and/or “I’ve got this!” mentality. How? Ask yourself why it’s an issue in the first place. What/who/where have I felt this way before? What’s causing me to react this way? What am I afraid of? After you honor your feelings, work through this simple thought process. With your newly discovered insight, what can you do to change it to a positive? I’ve learned that when I’m dreading something, I can spend a significant amount of time in agony if I choose to respond that way. I don’t because that sucks!! So, I find a way to approach it with my humor, creativity, and whatever else I need. I plan out my mode of positive attack and make it happen. The result? The situation changes, more information comes to light, the other person involved cancels, and/or I realize it was my own issue in the first place. Glad I didn’t waste all that precious time stressing about it. Right? Go on, get out there, you got this!
Engaging The Spirit